Colin Salter

Immerse yourself in the sublime words of the Bard with this sumptuous anthology of Shakespeare, with one entry for every night of the year. Chosen especially by a Shakespeare fanatic to reflect the changing seasons and daily events, the entries in this glorious book include:Romeo and Juliet on Valentine's Day. A Midsummer Night's Dream in Midsummer. The witches of Macbeth around their cauldron on Halloween. Also featured is one of Shakespeare's only two mentions of football for the anniversary of the first FA cup final. Beautifully illustrated with favourite scenes from Shakespeare's best-loved plays, this magnificent volume is a fun introduction to the well-known work and lesser known plays and poetry and is designed to be accessible to both adults and curious children. Keep this book by your bedside and luxuriate in the rich language of the greatest writer the world has ever known, for entertainment, relaxation and timeless wisdom every night of the year.

The ultimate photographic collection of the most historic trees on the planet. Uncover remarkable trees from around the world, many of which have borne witness to key moments in history or reached a scale and age that have allowed them to become a part of history themselves. “[A] rich history … it contains some of the most extraordinary tales of trees through time” — The Sunday Post First meet 'Methuselah’, a bristlecone pine in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, believed to be 4,900 years old. Learn about trees which have inspired great events, such as the Isaac Newton apple tree in Lincolnshire, where the famous scientist observed an apple falling from a tree (which still stands in the family garden). Other flora has withstood historic events such as in Japan, where the Hibaku jumoku still grows as a survivor tree from the Hiroshima bombing and the 9/11 Survivor Tree in New York City. Many trees continue to inspire our world today including the long avenue of beech trees in Northern Ireland known as the Dark Hedges which Game of Thrones fans will instantly recognise as the road to Kings Landing, the Robin Hood’s oak in the Sherwood Forest or the J. R. R. Tolkien trees in Avebury, which inspired the Ents in The Lord of the Rings. Rest a while beside the oldest trunks and witness the enthralling stories nestled within the branches of these gentle giants.

A compendium of the most celebrated, revelatory, notorious and heart-wrenching diaries from the great, the good and the downright evil. Including the historical journals of Samuel Pepys and Anne Frank; snapshots of art and culture in the diaries of Frida Kahlo and Kurt Cobain; and windows into the past from Queen Victoria and John Adams. Oscar Wilde once wrote: “I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read on the train.” 100 Diaries that Chronicled World Events introduces us to the world’s greatest diarists, whose published journals offer a unique insight into their time and place. Dive into a diverse range of accounts from all over the world. While everyone has heard of the diary of Anne Frank, the doomed log of Arctic explorer Robert Falcon Scott and the philandering antics of Samuel Pepys: far fewer have discovered the diaries of Jakob Walter, a foot soldier who gave a vivid insight into the Napoleonic wars, or Mary Chesnut, a privileged planter’s wife in South Carolina, who chronicled the South’s decline in the Civil War. Includes diaries from: Kurt Cobain, Samuel Pepys, Lady Anne Clifford, John Adams, Eliza Fay, Dorothy Wordsworth, Lord Byron, Allen Ginsburg, Anne Lister, George Sand, Queen Victoria, Andy Warhol, Virigina Woolf, Frida Kahlo and more!

A charmingly illustrated telling of the remarkable stories behind over 30 of the world’s most iconic timepieces. From the humble digital watch to luxury examples of haute horology from Switzerland, a watch’s combination of design, engineering and functionality can captivate a wearer. Iconic Watches presents over 30 timepieces that would sit proudly in any watch enthusiast’s collection. From the watch that helped US soldiers win World War II to the first watch on the moon, the most valuable ‘lost watch’ of all time to the timepiece that almost destroyed the Swiss watchmaking industry, each entry offers an intimate portrait of why each watch deserves its place in history. The remarkable stories cover the globe and beyond, featuring Hollywood royalty, actual royalty, daring adventurers, war heroes, legendary designers and engineers, and much more. It’s a beautifully illustrated window into the watch industry and one that readers are sure to love spending time with.

The ultimate photographic collection of the most historic trees on the planet. Uncover remarkable trees from around the world, many of which have borne witness to key moments in history or reached a scale and age that have allowed them to become a part of history themselves. “[A] rich history … it contains some of the most extraordinary tales of trees through time” — The Sunday Post First meet 'Methuselah’, a bristlecone pine in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, believed to be 4,900 years old. Learn about trees which have inspired great events, such as the Isaac Newton apple tree in Lincolnshire, where the famous scientist observed an apple falling from a tree (which still stands in the family garden). Other flora has withstood historic events such as in Japan, where the Hibaku jumoku still grows as a survivor tree from the Hiroshima bombing and the 9/11 Survivor Tree in New York City. Many trees continue to inspire our world today including the long avenue of beech trees in Northern Ireland known as the Dark Hedges which Game of Thrones fans will instantly recognise as the road to Kings Landing, the Robin Hood’s oak in the Sherwood Forest or the J. R. R. Tolkien trees in Avebury, which inspired the Ents in The Lord of the Rings. Rest a while beside the oldest trunks and witness the enthralling stories nestled within the branches of these gentle giants.

An intriguing collection of the most inspiring and powerful letters of all time. The written word has the power to inspire, astonish and entertain, as this collection of 100 letters that changed history will show. Ordered chronologically, the letters range from ink-inscribed tablets that vividly describe life in the Roman Empire to remarkable last wills and testaments, passionate outpourings of love and despair, and succinct notes with deadly consequences. Entries include:• A job application from Leonardo da Vinci, with barely a mention of his artistic talents.• Henry VIII’s love letters to Anne Boleyn, which eventually led to the dissolution of the monasteries.• The scrawled note that brought about Oscar Wilde’s downfall.• Emile Zola’s ‘J’accuse!’ open letter, in support of an alleged spy and against anti-Semitism.• Beatrix Potter’s correspondence with a friend’s son that introduced the character of Peter Rabbit.• A last letter from the Titanic.• Nelson Mandela’s ultimatum to the South African president. A stunning new edition with an elegant new cover, this fascinating book is perfect both for reading cover-to-cover and dipping into to discover the delights within.

A thought-provoking chronological journey through the world's most influential books. Many books have become classics, must-reads or overnight publishing sensations, but how many can genuinely claim to have changed the way we see and think? In 100 Books that Changed the World, authors Scott Christianson and Colin Salter bring together an exceptional collection of truly groundbreaking books – from scriptures that founded religions, to scientific treatises that challenged beliefs, to novels that kick-started literary genres. This elegantly designed book, first published in 2018 but updated with an exciting new cover, offers a chronological timeline of three millennia of human thought distilled in print, from the earliest illuminated manuscripts to the age of ebooks and audiobooks. Entries include:• The Iliad and The Odyssey, Homer (750 BC) • Shakespeare’s First Folio (1623) • A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Mary Wollstonecraft (1792) • Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845) • The Diary of a Young Girl, Anne Frank (1947) • Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe (1958) • A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking (1988)For literary lovers and rebellious readers, this book offers a fascinating overview of world history through the books that influenced and changed it.

A look at 100 inspiring novels that have left a significant mark on the world of literature and popular culture. Before the novel, the world of books was dominated by scientific tomes, religious tracts and histories of the victorious in war. There had been stories and epic poems from ancient times – Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey recounted ancient Greece, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was a chivalric romance in Middle English, but it was not until the seventeenth century, when the European middle classes had money and leisure, that anything so frivolous as a novel could be sold for entertainment. Colin Salter traces the evolution of the novel from the earliest examples through to the postmodernist best-sellers of the 21st century. Rather than dwelling too long on the technical nuances of innovative writing style he has amassed 100 of the greatest novel writers and chosen their most significant work. For writers such as Herman Melville, James Joyce or Harper Lee the decision is not a difficult one. For Charles Dickens, Salman Rushdie and Margaret Atwood, the choice is perhaps more difficult. Following the style set with previous books in the 100 series, most notably 100 Children’s Books and 100 Science Discoveries, each author is given a concise biography and their major novel analysed and then set in context with their other published work. Readers can become ridiculously well-read in 224 pages. Authors included: Alexandre Dumas, Daniel Defoe, Victor Hugo, Mary Shelly, Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Hilary Mantel, Jane Austen, Robert Louis Stevenson, Walter Scott, Lewis Carroll, JRR Tolkien, Gustave Flaubert, Marcel Proust, Henry James, Harper Lee, James Joyce, Ernest Hemingway, Margaret Atwood, Alice Walker, Jules Verne, HG Wells, Virginia Woolf, Leo Tolstoy, Louisa M. Alcott, Arthur Conan Doyle, Bram Stoker, John Steinbeck, CS Lewis, Chinua Achebe, Jack Kerouac, John Le Carre, Arundhati Roy, Mila Kundera, Joseph Heller, JD Salinger, Alexandr Solzhenitsyn, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Miguel Cervantes, Graham Greene, F. Scott Fitzgerald, George Orwell, John Steinbeck, Evelyn Waugh, Robert Graves, Daphne du Maurier, Agatha Christie, PG Wodehouse, Raymond Chandler, Hunter S. Thompson, Khaled Hosseini.

The Anatomist's Library is a fascinating chronological collection of the best anatomical books from six centuries, charting the evolution of both medical knowledge and illustrated publishing. There is a rich history of medical publishing across Europe with outstanding publications from Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, UK, and also many from Persia and Japan. Because of the high value of accurate medical textbooks, it was these works that pushed the boundaries of illustrated publishing. They commanded the expert illustrators and skilled engravers and hence didn’t come cheaply. They were treasured by libraries and their intrinsic worth has meant that there is an incredible wealth of beautifully preserved historic examples from the 15th century onwards The enduring popularity of Gray’s Anatomyhas shown that there is a long-term interest in the subject beyond the necessity of medical students to learn the modern equivalent – the 42nd edition (2020) – from cover to cover. But Englishman Henry Gray was late in the field and never saw the enduring success of his famous work. Having first published the surgeon’s reference book in 1858, he died in 1861 after contracting smallpox from his nephew (who survived). He was just 34. Gray was following on from a long tradition of anatomists starting with Aristotle and Galen whose competing theories about the human body dominated early medicine. However they did not have the illustrative skills of Leonardo da Vinci who was trained in anatomy by Andrea del Verrocchio. In 1489 Leonardo began a series of anatomical drawings depicting the human form. His surviving 750 drawings (from two decades) represent groundbreaking studies in anatomy. However none of Leonardo's Notebooks were published during his lifetime, they only appeared in print centuries after his death. Brussels-born Andries van Wesel (Andreas Vesalius) professor at the University of Padua is deemed to be the founder of modern anatomical reference with his 1543 work De Humani Corporis Fabrica Libri Septem ("On the fabric of the human body in seven books"). An Italian contemporary was Bartolomeo Eustachi who supported Galen’s medical theories. Among other discoveries he correctly identified the Eustachian tube and the arrangement of bones in the inner ear. His Anatomical Engravings were completed in 1552, nine years after Vesalius’s great work, but remained unpublished until 1714. These are just two entries in a book brimming with an abundance of important illustrated works – with some more primitive examples from the 15th century, up to the 42nd edition of Gray’s in the 21st.

Remarkable Treks is a compendium of exhilarating walks from around the planet – some lasting weeks, some lasting just a few days, but all of them set against spectacular backdrops. Following the same format as the award winning Remarkable Road Trips and Remarkable Bike Rides, Colin Salter has assembled 52 of the world's top-rated trails. The treks range in length from one-day hikes, to three-day hikes, to walks of almost expeditionary length. Thankfully, some of the longer routes, such as the Pacific Coast Trail in North America, which traverses the Rockies from Mexico to Canada, can be split up into sections. However for completists there are smaller challengers, such as the Pennine Way in England, which is never too far away from civilization, and by civilization we mean the pub. For the thrill-seeking backpackers there are the craggy peaks of Corsica (GR20 – which carries the ominous warning ‘some scrambling required’), or the hike up to Everest Base Camp. And for history buffs there is the Inca Trail in Peru or the 5-day hike to the Lost City of Teyuna in Colombia. Treks include: Samaria Gorge – Crete, Lycian Way – Turkey, Camino De Santiago – Spain, Routeburn Track – New Zealand, Laugavegur – Iceland, Torres Del Paine – Chile, Overland Track – Australia, Kungsleden – Sweden, West Highland Way – Scotland, John Muir Trail – USA, Alta Via 1 – Italy, Haute Route Pyrennes– Spain/France, Drakensberg Grand Traverse – South Africa, Western Way – Ireland, Via Dinerica – Albania/Bosnia/Croatia/Kosovo, GR221 Dry Stone Route – Majorca, Chilkoot Trail – USA/Canada, Toukbal Circuit – Morocco, Tour of the Matterhorn – Switzerland, Wadi Rum and Petra – Jordan.

100 Symbols That Changed The World looks at the genesis and adoption of the world’s most recognizable symbols. Universal symbols have been used as a form of communication from the Bronze Age, when the dynasties of ancient Egypt began the evolution of the thousand characters used in Egyptian hieroglyphics. In pre-Columbian America the Mayan civilization set out on a similar course, using pictures as a narrative text. With the adoption of written languages, symbols have come to represent an illustrated shorthand. The dollar sign in America evolved from colonists’ trade with the Spanish, and the widespread acceptance of Spanish currency in deals. Merchants’ clerks would shorten the repeated entry of “pesos” in their accounts ledgers, which needed to be written with a ‘p’ and an ‘s’. A single letter ‘s’ with the vertical stroke of the ‘p’ was much quicker. Historically correct dollar signs have a single stroke through the ‘S’. Symbols are also used to impart quick, recognizable safety advice. The radio activity symbol was designed in Berkley in 1946 to warn of the dangers of radioactive substances – and following the widespread use of gas masks in WWII, the trefoil symbol echoed the shape of the mask. There are many symbols of affiliation, not only to religious groups, but support of political causes or even brand loyalty. Symbols are used for identification, military markings and recognition of compatibility. They allow users to convey a large amount of information in a short space, such as the iconography of maps or an electrical circuit diagram. Symbols are an essential part of the architecture of mathematics. And in the case of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics – the first Games to be held in an Asian country – symbols allowed the organizers to create event signage that wouldn’t be lost in translation. The set of Olympic sports pictograms for the Games was a novel solution, and one that was added to in Mexico and Munich. Organized chronologically, 100 Symbols That Changed The World looks at the genesis and adoption of the world’s most recognizable symbols.

Arranged in chronological order from the early Greek mathematicians, Euclid and Archimedes through to present-day Nobel Prize winners, 100 Science Discoveries That Changed the World charts the great breakthroughs in scientific understanding. Each entry describes the story of the research, the significance of the science and its impact on the scientific world. There is also a resume of each scientist’s career along with their other achievements, sometimes – in the case of Isaac Newton – in a completely unrelated field (laws of motion and the component parts of light). The book covers all branches of science: geometry, number theory, cosmology, the laws of motion, particle physics, electricity, magnetism, the laws of gasses, optical theory, cell biology, conservation of energy, natural selection, radiation, quantum theory, special relativity, superconductivity, thermodynamics, genomes, plate tectonics, and the uncertainty principal. Scientists include: Albert Einstein, Alessandro Volta, Alexander Fleming, Amedeo Avogrado, Andre Geim, Antoine Lavoisier, Antony van Leeuwenhoek, Archimedes, Benoit Mandelbrot, Carl Friedrich Gauss, Charles Darwin, Christian Doppler, Copernicus, Crick and Watson, Dmitri Mendeleev, Edwin Hubble, Enrico Fermi, Ernest Rutherford, Erwin Schrodinger, Euclid, Fermat, Frederick Sanger, Galileo Galilei, Georg Ohm, Georges Lemaitre, Heike Kamerlingh, Isaac Newton, Jacques Charles, James Clerk Maxwell, James Prescott Joule, Jean Buridan, Johanes Kepler, John Ambrose Fleming, John Dalton, John O’Keefe, Joseph Black, Josiah Gibbs, Lord Kelvin, Lord Rayleigh, Louis Pasteur, Marie Curie, Martinus Beijerinck, Michael Faraday, Murray Gell-Mann & George Zweig, Neils Bohr, Nicholas Steno, Peter Higgs, Pierre Curie, Ptolemy, Robert Boyle, Robert Brown, Robert Hooke, Roger Bacon, Rudolf Clausius, Seleucus, Shen Kuo, Stanley Miller, Tyco Brahe, Werner Heisenberg, William Gilbert, William Harvey, William Herschel, William Rontgen, Wolfgang Pauli.

Remarkable Bicycle Rides includes a wide variety of cycling challenges from the exhilaration of high alpine trails to more gentler touring routes, such as Hadrian’s Cycleway, which crosses from Britain’s Solway Firth to the North Sea following the line of Roman monument Hadrian’s Wall. There are the classic mountain climbs beloved of followers of the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia, such as the climb to Mont Ventoux in France and the Stelvio Pass in Italy. Still in Italy, there is the mass participation of L’Eorica, a bike tour in traditional costume on vintage bikes. For those wishing to push themselves to the very edge (literally) there is the Yungas Road in Bolivia whose alternative name is El Camino de la Muerte (Death Road). Long-distance trails, such as the Great Divide (Canada/USA) and the Great North Trail (England/Scotland) can form an epic trip of a lifetime, or be tackled in smaller sections. On more robust wheels there is the A-Line single track in Whistler, Canada, and The Whole Enchilada in Moab, Utah. If you like your cycling on a flatter incline, many routes follow old railway beds, such as the Hiawatha and the Katy Trails in the USA, P'tit Train Du Nord (Canada) or the Parenzana which crosses from Italy to Slovenia to Croatia, plus many of the European routes follow great rivers. Also included in over 50 routes; Danube Cycle Path, Ring of Kerry, Iron Curtain Trail, Vasco-Navarro Greenway, Flanders Beer Route, Carretera Austral (Chile), the San Juan Islands, Norway Postal Boat, the Loire Valley, Passau to Vienna, Munda Biddi Trail, Shimanami Kaido (Japan), Route des Grands Crus (Burgundy), Nantes to Orleans, Paris to Mont St. Michel, Great North Trail, Alpine Panorama, Salzach Valley, Otago Peninsular, Route 10 Holland, Garden Route (South Africa), and the Hebridean Way.

An amazing guide to some of the most beloved, original, inspiring, hysterical, heart-warming, compelling, rude and downright scary books that have enchanted children the world over. In 100 Children's Books That Inspired Our World, author Colin Salter surveys an exceptional collection of truly groundbreaking children's books – from Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer to the graphic novels of Dr. Seuss. All the classic children's authors are represented with one stand-out book, plus mentions for their best-known works. Ordered chronologically, the book showcases favourite children's books ranging from Victorian classics to modern day bestsellers. Books featured include: Alice in Wonderland, Treasure Island, Charlotte's Web, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Matilda, Watership Down, Tales of Hans Christian Anderson, Grimms Fairy Tales, Peter Pan, A Bear Called Paddington, The Snowman, The Secret Garden, How to Train Your Dragon, Anne of Green Gables, Harry Potter, James and the Giant Peach, The Gruffalo, Mr Men, Coraline, Herge's Adventures of TinTin, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Finn Family Moomintroll, Swiss Family Robinson, Heidi, The Hobbit, The Red Balloon, The Jungle Book, Mary Poppins, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, His Dark Materials, The Railway Children, Noddy, The House at Pooh Corner, The Sheep Pig, Stig of the Dump, Fungus the Bogeyman, Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Secret Seven, Famous Five, Black Beauty, The Diary of a Young Girl, The Boy in Striped Pyjamas, Artemis Fowl and many more who lived happily ever after.

Remarkable Road Trips collects over 50 of the most spectacular, dangerous, and thoroughly memorable road trips from around the world Entries range from the shortest – the Guoilang Tunnel hewn into the side of a cliff face in China, to the longest, the Dempster Highway in desolate stretches of Arctic Canada. Some can be driven in a day or less, others may take four or five; the variety of landscapes and terrain and even latitudes is huge. For the adrenaline rush, there is even the old Nurburgring circuit in Germany. Common to all of them is a gallery of stunning photographs making them bucket-list destinations of not just petrolheads but those wishing to seek jaw-dropping scenery without packing hiking boots and a kagoule. They are all driveable, and the book includes distances and recommended stopping off points. Remarkable Road Trips continues the format established in the bestselling ‘Remarkable’ series, which combines spectacular photography of popular and niche sporting venues from around the world. Routes include: Wild Atlantic Way (Ireland), North Coast 500 (Scotland), Cabot Trail (Canada), Nurburgring Nordschliefe (Germany), Garden Route (South Africa), Blue Ridge Parkway, (USA), Jebel Hafeet (United Arab Emirates), Transfagarasan Road (Romania), Great Ocean Road, (Victoria, Australia) Amalfi Coast Road (Italy), Milford Road (South Island, New Zealand), Hana Highway (Hawaii), Passage du Gois (France), Grossglockner High Alpine Road (Austria), Atlantic Road (Norway), Ring Road (more exciting than it sounds, Iceland), Icefields Parkway (Canada), Route 66: Arizona (USA).

Since Apollo 11’s first ground-breaking moon landing in 1969, the world has been engrossed in space exploration and infinitely curious about how we got there and what might be next. What enables us to break free from Earth’s gravitational well? What does it take to become an astronaut and survive in space? Landing on the Moon explores the fascinating events that led up to the moon landing, both scientific and political, and how it has paved the way for many missions since.

100 Speeches that Roused the World tells the stories behind the most inspiring, rousing and memorable speeches, from ancient Greece to the present day. A concise introduction and analysis of each speech is accompanied by key illustrations and photographs. 100 Speeches presents the power of the spoken word at its finest, from stirring calls to arms to impassioned pleas for peace. Speeches include: Sojourner Truth, “Ain’t I a woman” (1851), Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address (1863), Emmeline Pankhurst “Freedom or Death” (1913), Winston Churchill, “Blood, Sweat and Tears” (1940), John F. Kennedy, “We choose to go to the moon” (1961), Martin Luther King, “I Have a Dream” (1963), Nelson Mandela on his release from prison (1990), Barack Obama, “Yes, We Can!” (2008) and Malala Yousafzai, “The right of education for every child” (2013). Others include Cicero, Elizabeth I, George Washington, Mahatma Gandhi, Vladimir Lenin, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Enoch Powell, Eva Perón, Mao Zedong, Malcolm X, Margaret Thatcher, Richard M. Nixon, Maya Angelou, Steve Jobs and Oprah Winfrey. This is a classic collection of inspirational, momentous and thought-provoking speeches that have stirred nations, challenged accepted beliefs and changed the course of history.

You've recorded the album, toured the world, and all of the fans have left the venues. Where can the rock star now turn for sanctuary? With stadium size egos to placate, how does the rock star relax in their household? From Keith Moon's stately home to George Harrison's Buddhist retreat, Sinatra's chic apartment to Elton John's crash pad, how do the homes of the rock stars reflect their personalities and idiosyncrasies? This picture led book takes you through the keyhole of the abode's of our biggest stars.

The plant world has always been appreciated for its visual appeal, but its true beauty can be revealed when you look under the electron microscope. This collection unearths some of the most wonderful microscopic images of flowers, trees and grasses ever created, now made possible by technology. We get to see the wonder of pollen, seeds, petals, algae and leaves. The images are as beautiful as any art. This stunning collection of images can be enjoyed purely as a visual voyage but also as a way to understand more of the science behind the image. Whether it's the work of a lavender leaf oil gland, the inside of a pine pollen, flower stamen sculptures deep inside a tree bark, or the wonderful patterns of lichen. Each image will include the scale of the photography as well as the scientific details in layman's terms.